Police Brutality Leaves Innocent Student Hospitalised In Bo Town

Some of the residents of Bo have grumbled about the way and manner they are being harassed by the police in the night hours before 12pm.
They are further asking whether there is still curfew that will restrict the movement of people.

Speaking to Awoko in a downbeat mood at New London Junction in Bo, one Solomon Brima said that he went to one of the entertainment centers on Wednesday night and after 11pm he decided to go home and on his way some police officers stopped him and interrogated him, wanting to know whether he is a criminal.

According to him Brima, he told them that he is not a criminal and that he is going to sleep but the police did not listen to him and had to put him under gun point, adding that he had to run because of the gun. He said the police pursued him and but he was lucky that he could not be reached and according to him, “I had been a very good runner that helped me.”

Another resident along New Gerehun road, Victor Alfred Lamin also complained that “around 11:23pm Wednesday night I was coming from Prince William Street end having visited some of my pastor friends to help me pay the school fees of my children, when one OSD officer met me at Gbendeva Street and told me that I am under arrest and I told him that I am not a criminal.”

Lamin went to say that “the police put me under gun point and I had to hold the gun so that he will not shoot me, adding that “the police told me that I should not be out at 11:23pm that is why he wants to deal with me.”

He claimed that he sustained some injuries and he has his medical report and has called on the discipline department of the police to take action against the OSD officer as these are the bad eggs in the police.

Reacting to the allegation of Police harassment, the Local Unit Commander of the Bo West Police Division, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP William Fayia Sellu said “I made it crystal clear to the general public that if they are being harassed by the police they should come to his office to report and we will conduct an identification parade to track the officer.”

CSP maintained that his officers are not harassing, adding that “normal patrol is going on and after midnight is the time that patrols start. There are a lot of places that we have identified for criminal activity like closer to Palamino entertainment center. People smoke cannabis-sativa along old railway line and we will arrest anybody that we see doing it.”

“We are doing normal police activity so if we see people during odd hours we will pick them up and we go after criminals, making people having sleepless night. There is no curfew. People are going about their normal business,” LUC cautioned, and re-echoed that “if anybody is being hurt by the police, come to my office and report.”